Saturday, eight smokejumpers from the 1961 Higgins Ridge fire reunited to share their stories and paint a picture for the public of the fateful events that day.

The Higgins Ridge fire in Idaho's Nez Perce National Forest was during a bad fire season. An eight-man crew from Grangeville, Idaho had jumped in the area, followed by 12 men from the Aerial Fire Depot at Missoula. One report says the fire rapidly exploded from 2 acres to 1,280.

The firefighters said they were battling 60 mph winds, falling trees and out-of-control flames. There came a time when all they could do was lie down.

"I dug down underneath the boulder, tried to get some fresh air, and put a wet bandana over my face to try and get some air, breathing, and it was so hot in there the cap in my canteen actually melted,” said smokejumper Dale Graff.

Soon enough, a small helicopter fit to hold two people hovered above the jumpers, with the pilot signaling he could take two jumpers, and come back for more.

The helicopter made several trips carrying jumpers back to safety that day, and jumpers say, it is a miracle the pilot and helicopter were able to land and operate in such conditions.

"That helicopter was so overloaded it shouldn't have been able to get off the ground, but somehow he managed to do it,” said another smokejumper, Jim VanVleck.

With all 20 smokejumpers and the pilot surviving that day, the crew says somebody was watching over them.

"They said they tried to remember some of the prayers, the Hail Marys, and I said my own share of prayers, I think that somebody was looking out I guess that day,” Graff said.

August 4, 1961, 20 lives were saved, but this could have been a much different story.The National Museum of Forest Service History is pleased to announce plans to build the National Conservation Legacy and Education Center in Missoula, Montana. The NMFSH, a national nonprofit organization founded in 1988, is dedicated to collecting, preserving, and interpreting the history of the USDA Forest Service and America’s conservation legacy for the education and enjoyment of the general public, scholars, and historical researchers. At the Center, the NMFSH will carry out its mission and pursue its vision for national conservation education, historical preservation. As a showcase for collections totaling more than 50,000 objects, photographs, documents, books and reports, the Center will encourage visitors to explore the cultural, ecological, economic, political, and social history of the lands and people that have defined the nation and given meaning to the term conservation.

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